Thirstfall - Memory of a Returnee-Chapter 29: The Weight of Shadows
"How much OXI do you have left?" I ask, keeping my eyes glued to the treeline.
Lola shifts on her feet, suddenly looking very interested in the gravel. "Around sixty percent."
I blink, slowly turning my head to stare at her. "From one shot?"
She nods, her shoulders slumping. She looks exactly like a puppy waiting to be scolded for chewing up a rug. "It was a big shot," she mumbles, pouting.
A siege weapon. I let out a slow breath.
Lullaby isn’t an assault bazooka; it’s an artillery howitzer.
We can’t use it for skirmishes, and we definitely can’t rely on it to keep us alive if it drains nearly half her reserves every time she pulls the trigger.
"Okay. Change of plans," I say, my tone shifting to absolute authority. "Pack it up. You don’t use the cannon again unless I give the direct signal. If they get close, you defend yourself with your hands. Just like you did with the Berserker. Understand?"
She nods enthusiastically, visibly relieved that I’m not yelling at her. She taps a glowing mechanism on the barrel. The massive weapon hisses, folding in on itself with a flurry of high-tech clicks and spinning gears until it collapses perfectly back into the sleek military case.
"Stay here and stay out of sight," I instruct, drawing the unlit hilt of Eventide. "If they can’t see you, they’ll be paranoid, constantly looking over their shoulders for the ’human cannon’ that just blew up the sky. Let them sweat."
She gives me a thumbs-up.
I check my HUD.
[OXI: 950/1,200]
More than enough.
I slip into the shadows, moving silently through the ruins to flank their position. Through the smoke, I spot the two remaining Drowned advancing cautiously, weapons drawn. They are moving in a tight formation.
Rank-E gear, maybe some D.
I have the angle. I have the element of surprise.
And then, the universe decides to remind me of my new passive skill.
A sudden, violent gust of wind howls through the clearing, fanning the flames in the burning canopy above. The abrupt flare of orange light casts long, distorted shapes across the ancient stone.
My shadow stretches out from behind the pillar, painting itself directly at the feet of the lead cadet.
Chaos Theory. Right. The world actively hates me in this life.
The lead cadet stops dead in his tracks. His eyes trace the shadow on the ground right back to the edge of my pillar.
"Step out," he barks, his voice steady, gripping his longsword. "I can see your shadow. Don’t make us flush you out."
He’s trained. Not just a panicked kid.
I let out a silent sigh, rolling my neck. So much for the easy way.
I step out from cover, my hands empty save for the dark hilt of my wakizashi.
The second cadet, a bulky guy wielding a heavy broadsword, spots my Rank-F rags and the broken hilt.
He smirks, his tension evaporating into arrogance. "Look at this trash. Where’s the girl, moron?"
I don’t answer. I just adjust my stance.
They don’t hesitate. They attack in tandem—a textbook pincer maneuver mastered by those with wealthy enough families to pay for pre-academy training.
The broadsword sweeps low, a horizontal arc aimed at my thigh to cripple my mobility. The leader steps in a fraction of a second later, bringing his longsword down in a vicious vertical chop aimed right at my collarbone.
I pivot, letting the low sweep whistle past my leg by a mere inch.
As the vertical strike descends, I thumb the ignition ring on my hilt.
For exactly one second, Eventide wakes up.
A blade of condensed, bleeding shadow erupts from the hilt just in time to meet the descending steel.
CLANK.
It doesn’t sound like metal hitting metal. It sounds like iron striking solid bedrock—a dry, heavy impact that sends a visible shockwave through the humid air.
The kinetic recoil is brutal. The leader’s eyes widen in shock as his strike is dead-stopped, his balance completely shattered by the unnatural density of my blade.
I immediately cut the OXI feed. Eventide vanishes back into the hilt.
Both cadets stumble back, completely thrown off their rhythm, staring at my empty hand in disbelief.
"Careful!" the leader snaps, quickly recovering his guard, his eyes locked on my hilt. "That weapon is dangerous. Don’t underestimate him."
He’s smart. But smart people tend to overthink.
I step aggressively into the bulky cadet’s guard. I thumb the ignition again. Eventide hums to life, the violet-black blade roaring with a terrifying, whispering hiss that stirs my veteran instincts. I twirl the blade in a rapid feint, the trails of shadow screaming through the air like dying ghosts.
Instead of looking at the bulky guy I’m attacking, I snap my gaze to a random tree behind them.
"Now, Lola!" I shout.
Both cadets flinch, their heads jerking toward the treeline, bracing for a nuclear blast.
The bulky guy leaves his guard wide open.
I swing upward. Eventide shears through his heavy leather armor and the flesh beneath like a hot knife through butter. The blade cleanly severs his leg just above the knee.
He collapses like a puppet with its strings cut... a blood-curdling scream tearing from his throat as his detached limb hits the dirt.
The leader snarls, lunging forward to cover his bleeding partner. I parry his thrust with a heavy riposte, letting the repulsive force of Eventide throw him back a few steps.
Behind him, the crippled cadet is frantic. He reaches into his belt with a trembling, blood-soaked hand and pulls out a small, glowing glass vial. An escape flask.
No, you don’t.
If he escapes, he reports a Rank-F rat wielding a weapon that can cut through Rank-E/D gear like water. I’ll have a massive target on my back before the sun comes up. Plus, I need his Echo fragment for intel.
I close the distance before he can shatter the glass.
My blade flashes. His hand, still clutching the flask, tumbles into the dirt.
Before his brain can even register the new amputation, I spin on my heel, using the momentum to bring Eventide around in a clean, horizontal arc.
His screaming stops instantly. His head hits the ground a second after his hand.
I deactivate the blade. The heavy silence that follows is broken only by the crackle of the burning canopy, the annoying cicadas, and the heavy thud of his body.
But the silence doesn’t last.
Crack.
The escape flask on his hand shatters on its own. Since there is no life left to save, the magic twists.
A beam of dense, blood-red light erupts from the broken glass, tearing through the smoke and shooting straight up until it crashes into the oceanic ceiling miles above, dyeing the waves crimson.
Then, the sound hits.
A low, mournful cry of a weeping whale vibrates through the damp earth, heavy enough to rattle my teeth. The ocean reclaiming its drowned.
My blood runs cold. "Ahh... the surprise," I mutter.
The system doesn’t hide the dead. I didn’t just secure my secret. I fired a flare telling every predator in the arena exactly where I am.
I look at the remaining Drowned. His eyes are burning with a mixture of absolute terror and vengeful fury.
My HUD flickers, a cold splash of water on my adrenaline high.
[Eventide Activation Cost: -340 OXI]
[OXI: 610/1,200]
Damn it. This thing drinks OXI like a dying man with Black Thirst.
I tighten my grip on the hilt. I need to end this fast, or I’m going to be the one bleeding out in the ruins.
